Trauma of the mesentery. Anatomy and diagnosis

Mesenteric lesions in abdominal trauma are encountered in 3% of the cases. Diagnosis of these lesions is difficult, which translates into important delays until surgery that affects patient survival. The short-term consequences of mesenteric lesions translate in bowel ischemia or important blood loss. If a lesion is confirmed after imagistic investigations, one must have complete knowledge of the anatomy and the particular distribution of the main arterial and venous trunks to predict the region of the small bowel that will have to be observed or resected if surgery is required. The aim of our study was to demonstrate this particular distribution of blood vessels through cadaver dissection and to note the resources available to diagnose such lesions.